This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio explores the history of public markets and meat supplies in New York City with Gergely Baics, Assistant Professor of History and Urban Studies at Barnard College. Tune in to learn about food provisioning and local markets and how policy and seasonality play into the proteins made available to the public in urban areas. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery.

This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is on the phone with Giuliano Hazan, cooking instructor and author of a new book entitled Hazan Family Favorites. Giuliano comes from a tradition of fine Italian cooking. His mother, Marcella Hazan, is a famous Italian cookery writer. Tune in to hear Giuliano recount stories of frying with his grandmother, and being teased because of his Italian school lunches. Giuliano's book includes unpretentious recipes designed to inspire home cooking. Hear about Giuliano's favorite pasta dish, why he loves to teach, and the importance of cooking with family. Hear some of Giuliano's heirloom recipes on this episode of A Taste of the Past. This episode has been brought to you by Whole Foods.

"My mother and father could put up with a lot of things, but not bad food..."

"I think a lot people have a misconception that fried food is always going to be greasy and heavy, but fried properly it's really a wonderful way to cook because it seals the natural flavors of the food inside with this crispy exterior. It's almost the purest way of enjoying something when it's very well fried."

Did you know that most Americans did not eat tuna until the 20th century? On this week's episode of A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio sits down with Andrew F. Smith, a food historian and author of the recent book, American Tuna: The Rise and Fall of an Improbable Food. Learn about how Mediterranean immigrant populations popularized the fish in the United States, and how the Japanese made it a staple of culinary culture. Hear about how American preferences in terms of tuna preparation have changed over the decades, from canned to raw. With all of the media attention concerning methylmercury, is tuna still safe to eat? Tune in to learn more about the different varieties of tuna, population levels, and the role of sport fisherman in the tuna industry. This episode has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

"Once you remove the oil from it, it's actually a very mild-tasting fish. You can use it as a substitute in pretty much all of your chicken recipes."

"80% of the Bluefin tuna stock that was around in the 1970s is now gone. The thought used to be if we restricted catching, then we would give the population an opportunity to recover... There's no evidence that supports that."